Aug. 28, 2013, marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. My comrades in the Chronicle features section are looking for Bay Area residents who participated in the march, and are willing to tell their stories. If you know someone who marched on Washington in 1963, please have them contact me at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. We’d love to hear about their experience, and share it with a new generation.

As someone who was born long after the event, I process it differently as I grow older. When I first heard King’s entire speech in high school, I focused on the words and imagined how powerful they must have been during that civil rights crossroads. Later as a young reporter who had covered protests that often turned violent, I marveled at the fact that 200,000-plus protesters had marched so purposefully and peacefully.

Last year, I stopped the car to hear the speech again (Damon Bruce airs it annually on his noon-3 p.m. show on KNBR 1050), with my 7-year-old son in the back seat, and experienced it again as a parent. How many of those marchers participated hoping for a better world for their children and grandchildren? How many lived to see an African-American president?

I can only imagine how someone who participated must feel about the event five decades later. If you have a relative, friend or neighbor who marched, or participated yourself, please let us know. I know my colleagues will write a good story.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.